Seven Words
by Lily Luna Lestrange III
Summary: After Harley's pleading and interested thoughts, the Joker agrees to "adopt" a child. Meanwhile, 12-year-old arsonist Bonnie (better known as the Ring-Girl) is reading her book, undisturbed and alone.
1. Origin

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.**

**A/N: T****here is no Robin romance (Number 1. It's been done most of the time (though some of them are pretty good). Number 2. She's twelve. Number 3. She's possibly a sociopath (Or not. She might care for people; I'm still figuring that out. I'm not exactly sure what personality disorder she has yet, but she definitely has one...) Number 4. That wasn't apart of my plot anyway.). Sorry I sounded rude there; this always happens when I type something on the Internet (*sigh*).****  
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**So...enjoy, I guess. This will be the only chapter in first person POV.  
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"Then you have nothing to live for."

That was it. That was all it took. Those words.

I killed her.

I was ten. She was asking for it. She was the pathetic one. _She_ was the one that had nothing to live for. She couldn't even fight; she just had a knife to make her feel better. She didn't really abuse me before; she just didn't really care. Though she didn't neglect me. She fed me, she helped me, she took care of me. Heck, I got hugs. But I was just there to be there.

I knew that she was cra- _mentally unstable. _A sociopath. She didn't tend to show it, however. Like me. Until the fire.

When my room went ablaze, she suddenly pinned me down on my bed when I tried to flee. She held a knife at my chin, petted my hair as if it would all be over soon, and taunted me for being an orphan even though she was my (one-year long) adoptive mother. She was on top of me, but I somehow managed to get a glimpse of her dull, apathetic eyes.

She wasn't drunk.

And to think she cared at least _a little bit _about me.

I felt strangely betrayed. I almost called for help. _Surely the police force will come. Or the Batman, _I thought.

But I realized no one would come. I realized it when she said the seven words. I took matters into my own hands. I kicked her in the shin, and she dropped her knife. I stabbed her twice in the shoulder. She fell in the fire, screaming. I stared at her. The television was still surprisingly on even though the flames were engulfing it. The reporter said:

"On a darker note, five people were found dead in Gotham National Bank from exposure from the Joker's deadly venom-" I looked at the TV. I saw five bodies with abnormally large smiles on their faces. Huh. The Joker always amused me.

I glanced at Beatrice, also known as "Mother". I thought of the grins on the corpses' faces. I put the cold weapon that was now mine on Beatrice's lips. Police sirens closed in about ten minutes later.

They found me crying on the other side of the house and a burned Beatrice with a bloody frown on her face.

I'm not crazy. I'm not. I just have my own philosophy. That's it. There's something wrong with how people are living. They lack in meaning. They have no purpose even if they think they do. No one really reaches their goals in life. They're not special like they think they are. They are dead inside, and they have nothing to live for. Their lives are merely circus acts that anyone in their right minds can control and _burn_. People wear masks and costumes to cover their doormat-like selves. At least I show my real self both in costume and out.

Both in costume and out.

**A/N: ...By the way, you probably have an unreliable narrator on your hands, considering this kid was insane even before this incident. You figure it out yourself.****  
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**So...was that clich****é at all (sorry)?  
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	2. Borrow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, DC does.**

Gotham City Orphanage was a rather secluded place, almost unnoticeable until one saw the yellow sign with painted hand-prints that said _Gotham City Orphanage: Est. 1939_ and the lone red ball in the front yard. It was large, however, and looked fairly normal, but new at the same time: average-sized white windows, red brick walls, three stair steps that led to the arch door, a tall fence. It was pitch black night outside, and in the spacious living room of the orphanage was a group of seven fighting over the TV remote.

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

"Can we just get this over with already?"

"NO!"

"Come on!"

"It's mine!"

"Shut up!"

Behind the ruckus was another who stared at the fire with her arms hugging her legs. The orange and yellow lights reflected in the girl's rectangular shaped glasses. She paid no attention to the ongoing fight a few feet away. She was still exhausted from last night, even though she didn't show it. She looked behind.

Channels flickered before her brown eyes when the remote was in the middle of a tug of war. The game show channel, the kids' network, the cooking channel, the news…

The news...

She quickly stood up, walked over to two of the boys, and snatched the remote from their hands.

"Hey!" The two twin boys shouted. Bonnie raised her eyebrows and turned on Gotham Cable News.

"Thank you…" The oldest of the group said. The youngest girl crossed her arms.

"I only need this on for a minute," Bonnie stated; her face didn't show any expression except a hint of interest. She jumped onto the couch.

"HA!" Three of the kids yelled and pointed at the oldest. The brunette rolled her eyes. Moments later everyone's eyes were fixated on the television.

"In other news, the Joker is still not stopping his rampage through Gotham City…" The anchorman announced. The older girl, what's-her-face…Jenny, she remembered, groaned, a fire of hate gleaming in her eyes. The youngest (Darla?) squeaked and pulled her bob-cut black hair. The blonde twins ignored the TV screen and babbled amongst themselves. Jenny grinded her teeth and tried hard not to hit the twins in the head with the magazine on the wooden table in front of her (she had to pin her hand down with her other hand). The other three became deadly quiet. Bonnie leaned forward, slightly amused by the others' reactions.

"Five car explosions planted by none other than this rogue have killed nineteen people. The sixth clown bomb, which was found near City Hall, was fortunately diffused. Seven people were found dead in an alley from Joker venom a half an hour ago," The anchorman continued. The Darla girl cowered under her blue blanket. One of the quiet kids (Skipper or something like that?) winced.

"Police forces said that they will bring the Joker into custody immediately…" the reporter assured. Bonnie stopped herself from rolling her eyes. The Joker could escape easily. He was _the Joker. _The police wouldn't do anything, anyway. Darla pumped her fists in the air, and cheered, "Hooray!" Jenny muttered something that sounded like, "The police are useless; Batman is the only one that actually _does_ something...They didn't help..."

"Among other criminals…" Bonnie scrunched her nose as a strain of her red hair fell in front of her eye, which stopped her slight smirk. The remote was suddenly snatched out of her hand. Her eyes widened. The twins grinned at her; one of them swayed the remote in front of her face.

"The minute's over!" They hollered, whilst Bonnie glared at them. And the second fight began.

**Seven Words: At a warehouse**

"Harley, baby, I love giving this city wedgies!" The Clown Prince of Crime exclaimed as he scooped up Harley Quinn bridal style, who giggled nonstop.

"Yeah, Mistah J!" Harley beamed. Her face was dangerously close to her wonderful Puddin', who gave her one of his beautiful smiles. Harley's two fingers walked up Mistah J's arm, and she purred, "Hey, why don't you say that we-"

"HA, HA, HA, ha...**No.**" Joker deadpanned. He dropped Harley, who made a small, "Eep!" The Joker pointed and laughed hysterically at the sight of his villainous harlequin moaning on the ground. It was pretty pathetic, honestly.

He sighed, "You see, Harls, I know how much you've always wanted a kid, _correct-a-mondo_?" Harley squealed and kicked her legs off the floor in delight. But then her dear Puddin' took his cute, little hat off his luxurious green hair and put it on his chest as if he was mourning a beloved loss. ..._Hey, no one died! Well, except the people from thirty minutes ago...and the other nineteen people... _Harley recalled. _Eh, whatevs. _As she was thinking to herself, the Joker circled around her like a vulture. Harley bounced up smiling, and she forgot what she was thinking about before.

"Though we shouldn't go through the beauty of childbirth, of course..." Harley nodded her head vigorously.

"And it would be..._nice _to have a big, hap-py family..." Harley looked like she was about to explode in joy; her fists shook madly. Mistah J sneaked behind her and leaned into her neck.

"Which is _WHY..." _He suddenly boomed, which made Harley's eyes pop out of her head. Joker's murderous grin crept up his face; he put his hand on the once again melting Harley and the other held out. His hat lay near her feet.

"Which is _why_..." Joker's voice softened, yet it successfully brought chills down Harley's spine. He jumped in front of her a split second later.

"..._We should borrow one._" Joker's nose bumped into Harley Quinn's, making her have a nice view of his glinting green eyes. She screamed in joy, and Puddin' squeezed her hands as she fainted with a big smile on her face. The Joker laughed, and laughed, _and laughed..._

Around the same time the Ace of Knaves said those words, the same group of children downstairs in the orphanage flinched.


	3. Found

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman (*sniff*). **

The curtains were closed. The door was locked. Only one person was in the room. A small red trench coat fell onto the hardwood floor in the bedroom. A top hat and a black mask were on the dull grey bed next to it. The girl walked over to her wooden chest. No one could ever open her chest except herself. No one. She had no roommate anyway. A wooden red key that was loosely attached to her pocket with a long string was inserted and turned in the lock. The lock made a low clicking sound; she pushed up the lid, inspecting inside. The costume was still there.

**Seven Words: Ten Minutes Later**

The window was open. The same girl jumped out of said window and landed onto the ledge. A whip was wrapped around her arm tightly, but it slowly uncoiling. Her hair, still in a messy bun, now had a black top hat with a dark red ribbon laid on top of it; her glasses were replaced with a mask. She wore black pants, an unbuttoned red suit jacket, and a white collar shirt. The girl fixed her bow-tie, whip still in hand.

She stepped off. She didn't notice her heart go up her throat as she went downward.

Her feet hit the ground; the street lantern lights flickered as she did. She looked left and right.

Bonnie was not a big fan of being alone outside. She has done this many times, but it was like someone was watching her.

Like the Batman.

Bonnie shook that thought away instantly. If the Batman was watching her the whole time, then why wasn't she in a juvenile detention center or even Arkham Asylum? If a criminal was watching her, she would either be dead or whipping the heck out the sorry guy. Now, if an average person was watching her, said person wouldn't do a thing-such a calling 911-because the only thing Gotham City citizens do is panic.

She strolled on the sidewalk and looked ahead, still figuring out which building or house to, uh, "warm up". Of course, it has to be few blocks away, so...

*Seven Words: Fifteen Minutes Later*

"Oh, Mistah J! You made my day!" Harley had literal hearts in her eyes as she sighed in anticipation of getting her new child. She jumped onto the Joker, who clearly had a look of pure annoyance on his face. He still managed a smile on it, though, and he patted her head as she cuddled with him.

"Don't mention it, sugar..." The Joker smooth-talked. The hearts in her eyes got bigger.

"Wonder what's taking the _goons_ so long..." He continued as Harley leaped off him. A group of six silhouettes came into view.

"We're here, boss," One of them waved, with a small fear trembling in his voice. The Joker pulled his shotgun out and pointed it at said goon.

"Yeah, _that's _good to know," He waved the weapon at the frozen man. The Clown Prince of Crime pulled the trigger, but only a colorful red and yellow flag on a black stick with a written "BANG!" came out. The masked goon whistled breath out his mouth as he slumped back in relief; the other five turned away, knowing what was coming next out of the flag gun. But nothing else came out, and the Joker just laughed and said sharply, "Gotcha!"

A hard gust of wind with some debris suddenly shot at the group, with the Joker falling back with a "GAH!" as newspaper shreds blew into his face. Everything abruptly blurred around some of them, complete with a hot heat warm on their faces and a shriek-like buzzing sound in their ears. The Joker began grumbling something as he pushed himself up against the wall near him. The grumbling turned into giggling, and then into pointing, and lastly into maniacal laughing.

Three small buildings across the street from him were engulfed by bright flames, for life-sized chunks were quickly ripped apart from them and broke into dozens of pieces and ashes as it collided with the ground. Falling screams quickly followed, as well as distant fire horns. A tiny silhouette around the corner got closer, not acknowledging the group, but that wasn't the point.

"Well...that was unexpected," Joker crossed his arms, with Harley and the others just staring ahead. "Come everybody, let's g-."

The same silhouette from before jumped out of nowhere in front of the group just a few feet away and gasped. The Clown Prince of Crime took a couple seconds of comprehend what just happened, but after that an unsettling smile graced his face as he met eye contact with the brown-eyed child. She made an even bigger gasp and swiftly took out her grappling hook she stole (she didn't really feel bad about that knocked-out cashier in the spy shop) and projected it at the roof before he or his goons could react. She was automatically pulled upward until the Joker lunged at her leg. An electric shock shot up her leg, yet she kicked his hands away hard and continued going upward.

"GET HER!" Joker cried. About four of the goons proceeded to climb up the walls next to them as police sirens closed in; the other two threw exploding marbles at the girl, who was struggling to push herself up the rooftop as a few deactivated marbles flew over her head.

"Come on, Harley, we're going to take a short cut," Joker grinned. She hugged him as he got out a small black stick out of his pocket. He pushed the button and the stick lengthened itself and out like an umbrella was a spinning helicopter-like top. The duo flew off the ground and past the goons as they did. They took sight of the girl running across the building, about to jump down to the closest ledge. She turned around. Two of the most dangerous criminals in Gotham were a few yards away from her, smiling as if it was a miracle she was there.

"You wouldn't _dare_ go jump off this roof, _would you, _Kid?" The Joker menaced. Bonnie was speechless. Everything about him interested and slightly scared her to the point where she watched the news about him. She wasn't a fan, however. No. That wouldn't be wise.

_Then why would you go and attack the group? _One part of her mind snarked. The other part answered with, _I didn't know it would be them. If I did, I would already be back in my room. At least some of the marbles weren't thrown hard enough to explode. _Her pale fist clenched, and she hurled the marbles at them.

Harley and Joker tripped backward as the marbles popped spontaneously. The Joker growled and coughed. _The kid needs to learn some manners, but at least we don't have to roughen her up... Plays with fire...he, he, he..._ He thought. As the smoke vanished, the kid was not on the other side of them. The Joker walked toward the end of the flat roof, and bent down. The girl ran through a narrow alley and sneaked toward her destination. The orphanage was not so far away.

"I think she's headed toward _Gotham City Orphanage_," The Joker stated darkly as Harley hovered over him. They both smirked.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Puddin'?" Harley asked happily while she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. We found our kid..." Joker glared at the girl, who then disappeared into the shadows. "But we can't..._adopt_ her today, oh, no, no, no. She's too..._hyped _at the moment. In a few days..._he, he, he..._" The two didn't notice that a large shadow loomed over them.

"I don't think so."

**A/N: (*evil laugh*) Thank you to the people that are reading my story! I know, 200 doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm still thankful for it. Please review (I'm sorry, I hate begging...)! **


	4. Infection

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. **

**A/N: School is here to torment me once more. Yay. (*blows party horn*).**

**By the way, Lady Cocoa, I made a special reference to you in the story. See if you can find it!**

**And P.L.P...I'll have to think of a quote you usually say...**

The Joker and Harley slowly turned around to see…legs? They looked up.

Oh, Batsy.

"Bats, Darling! Long time, no see! At first, I thought you gave up on me, went to beat other fish in the sea, but no!" The Joker greeted him with open arms as he landed on his knees with a thump, "You really _DO_ care about me, Batsy! I'm glad!" Tears were shining in the Harlequin of Hate's eyes, "I'm s-sorry, I'm just getting e-emotional, that's all!" He swiped a tissue out of his pocket, and blew in it; it sounded more like blowing a raspberry, though.

Batman grabbed his collar; Joker made a, "Tee, hee." Batsy threw him to the ground a couple yards away, and he made the same "GAH!" as he did about fifteen minutes ago. His head hit the cold pavement. He shivered and shook as tried to hold onto his few strings of consciousness.

"Ya really love me, doncha, Bats_ssss..._?" The Joker's head limply rolled back; a thud was heard as his arms were spread like a eagle.

Harley's arms became frigid from uncontrollable shaking, and even though she wore pure white make-up, the redness in her face was noticeable. Her fists were clinched, and her head was tilted down. Her normally (somewhat) innocent eyes flashed of anger as she looked up beneath her shadowy furrowed eyebrows. The police and firefighter sirens got louder.

A shrill scream of rage soared up to the top of her lungs as she lunged at the man who hurt her Puddin'. The Joker didn't really notice anything as he began to regain awareness from the scene except a cat screech and the fact that his dear Bat was getting beaten to a bloody pulp.

_Oh, Batsy, _Joker moaned beside himself, _How many times do I have to tell you to never play with me when Harls is around...? I think your IQ is decreasing, don't ya think? _

His narrow eyes rolled over late to the scene of hilarity as he saw his little harlequin hovering over a crippled and possibly scarred for life Bat-With-A-Broken-Wing (even though he was out cold). Harley Quinn giddily did a big, toothy grin, mallet in hand.

"How was that, Puddin'?" She asked, in a surprisingly timid voice on her tip-toes. Mischief sparkled in the Joker's insanely glowing eyes.

"It was good, but let _me_ deal with Bat-cakes, 'kay?" Joker replied as sickly sweet as he possibly could. She giggled, and her head whipped at Batman.

"B-Man, you must BOW your head in shame for hurting my Puddin'-Pop!" Harley scolded and pointed directly at the ground, popping the "pop". The Batman didn't react, because, well, he was unconscious. The Joker, ignoring how she was acting (and the fact that the police were nearby, as well as a large fire), only paid attention to one detail.

_Puddin'-__**Pop**__? _The Joker groaned in his thoughts. _That's a new one. _

"NOW!" Harley scolded, stomping her foot in the process; her harlequin hat bounced. Joker rolled his eyes.

"Are we done now, Harls?" He remarked, biting his finger nails.

"I don't know, Mistah J, whatcha think we should do with him?" answered the harlequin, who leaned away from the Bat as she crossed her arms. The Joker walked a few feet forward, inspecting the man. He thought heavily as he closed into the Bat, and he tapped his cheek three times with one finger.

"_Hmm..." _Joker wrinkled his nose, "I can't kill him, oh, of course not. The game shouldn't _end_ so abruptly. That wouldn't be fun at all. The..._chess_ game should go on _forever_ and _ever_. He's the knight, _I'm _the king, you'll be the...um...queen, that's it, and that kid should be the little pawn person who _blossoms_ into another queen once she gets to the end. And it will stay that way, do you hear that, Bats?" Something clicked in Harley's head; her blue eyes widened.

"Hey, Puddin'! What if he remembers us talking about Little Red?" Harley frowned, saying something smart for once. Joker, again, focused on that one, unimportant detail again.

_Little__ Red? _Joker (again) groaned in his thoughts, _She's got a nickname for the kid already? And it's even an obvious reference to her plant-lover friend! Some nerve; she better not be going back there again...mutter, mutter, mutter..._

_...wait, what was she talking about again? Oh, yeah, the Bat!_

"Well, then, let's not take any chances and hit him in the head again!" The Joker yelled at Harley, dismissing what the consequences would be if Batsy found out about their new Little Miss Murder. And so she proceeded: her mallet landed straight for the Bat's head. A moan escaped his lips, for some black-dot-thing in his ear made a few tiny sparks. The Joker and Harley's discordant voices echoed and beeped throughout the tiny recorder.

_...Recorder?_

_Well, he sure likes listening on into conversations. _

Joker looked at Harley, "Well, it seems that he was _crazy_ prepared today like always, right, Poo?" Harley ferociously nodded her head; her pupils leaped everywhere like a bunny rabbit.

"Right!" She agreed, straightening her posture. Her eyes calmed down until they only looked from side to side, awkwardly smiling at the same time. It wasn't long till she asked, "So...what should we do now? The boys are probably getting arrested right now." He forgotten all about the police, who were right in front of the burning buildings across from them. How they did not notice the two lone figures and giant bat body on an apartment building not so far away must mean that the police force are getting stupider and stupider everyday. His goons are not safe from the growing disease, either (_no good help comes these days). _

"Let's go back. I'm starting to get bored," The Joker said, and he turned away from the sight of Gotham that was in front of him. He glanced behind once last time to see the _Gotham City Orphanage_ many blocks away, tucked in a hidden corner of the city, "But don't worry, Kid, Daddy J will be back _very soon._"

And his ominous laughter filled the air, and like a spreading, infectious disease, it made almost all of Gotham City laugh with him.

Almost everybody.


	5. Laugh

Disclaimer: I don't own Batman, DC does.

A/N: To the people that actually read this story, I'm sorry for being...a month or so late to update. It's called school and writer's block. Oh, and happy late Halloween!

* * *

It has been four days since_ that _incident occurred. Not going out at night since that happened was a setback for Bonnie. She wasn't afraid that she would see them again, oh, no, that would probably wouldn't happen again. Just because something happens once doesn't mean it's going to happen again. But something, _almost someone,_ told her each night that she _shouldn't _go back out. Was it because she was slightly spooked, and that paranoia would just mess up things? Or that they could be looking for her? She didn't exactly know why, but she knew she couldn't go back at _least for a little while_.

It was two minutes before ten at night, and Bonnie, top hat next to her (she _could_ go out, after all), sat alone on her bed in her room reading a book with its cover ripped off the back. She fixed her reading glasses, not even bothering to go to sleep. Her eyes shifted to the tightly closed window. Just in case.

Downstairs, the same six people from a few nights ago except Jenny were simply hanging around lazily with three others, and most of them were awake after their bedtime. The twins were talking about nonsense that no one understood except themselves, and little Darla was curled up on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep. Emma and Joel both talked about movies, and he really seemed to like movies with "pun blizzards". The young, braided-haired girl rubbed her forehead in irritation as he continued to go on and on about ice skating after that. Johnny simultaneously heard the strange conversation and read his depressing novel, unlike Akiva who looked on in interest (reasons unknown). Skipper and Renee were playing chess as Skipper moved his black knight.

"Checkmate," He said with a smug smile. Renee's shoulders hunched forward as she sighed in defeat; her china blue eyes rolled upward, holding her seat.

A flicker of the two attached wall lamps above the couch vibrated; the people who were awake hesitated to look up. Joel immediately stood up, with sudden fear in his eyes that a mob would be coming after him (again, reasons unknown). Darla's abnormally large eyes fluttered open; her voice made a little squeak. The lights dulled again as Johnny quickly closed his book. The two forest green vases on the fireplace shelf shuddered, for the twins silenced. Upstairs, a shiver ran down Bonnie's spine.

And that was when the screaming started.

It happened all so fast. The voices around almost everybody were muffled, and they were slowly being substituted by horrible buzzing sounds as the miniature explosion by Gotham standards shrieked and echoed in their ears that begged for mercy. The chessboard pieces flew in the air; the pressure of the explosion from the door knocked most of the running children and teenagers' feet down, and the gun shots that erupted from outside got closer and closer inside. Roars of hyena-like laughter came in quicker than light. It wasn't long until the sobs and gasps escaped the orphans' throats when a very tall figure with green hair and an infamous purple trench coat nonchalantly strolled inside the new and improved entrance way. A deck of cards was being shuffled in his gloved hands, not looking at them while his henchmen and lady hastened right toward each individual person. The screeches got shriller.

The whole orphanage knew they were there at that very moment.

Gun shots ripped into the air and hit nothing at all as the "Humorous Friend to all Children" playfully threw another bag of exploding marbles at the couch the twins were once sitting at.

_Oh, the sweet sound of innocent, little children and wonderful, bratty adolescents! _The Joker thought, _If only I still had that amusement park... _

Harley was enjoying her time with a young girl that was screaming her head off, and Acey, Spades, Rocco, and all those other henchmen he didn't care about were trying to have some fun (especially with a boy that looked like he could make a horrendous-looking credit card), but that wasn't the point. Where was that kid...?

A flash of red hair was caught by him. _Perfect..._

His dainty pocket knife switched on; the reflection of the small weapon reflected in the shattered vases and pictures.

Chaos, laughter, happiness...he loved every second of it. And so would the new, mini Joker...

Within a few seconds flat, Renee was being pinned against the wall by the Clown Prince of Crime. He felt the fear pumping in her heart, but at the same time, he knew she wanted a _smile_ on her face.

"Well, that was _certainly _rude, what you did last night..." The Joker pulled her long red hair. Renee was trembling. _I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. _

"What...what..." she muttered, "NO! That wasn't me! That wasn't m-me! I don't know what your talking about!" Renee mustered up all the courage she had to yell at possibly the most dangerous man in Gotham. For a 10-year-old girl, that was either really, _really_ stupid or really, _really_ brave. The Joker wasn't the least bit amused.

"Oh, _really_..." The Joker threatened as he adjusted his flower, knife still in hand. Tears were rolling down the girl's cheeks; praying mentally that she'll somehow miraculously survive. It was even better that her sobbing sounded like a mixture of hiccuping and giggling. He laughed, and laughed, _and laughed..._

"**Stop**," A growl came from behind. It almost sounded like..._Batsy..._

"Oh, Bats, come on, you're ruining my fun..." The Joker turned around, gripping his knife.

Jenny was normally a wary person, always looking out for the countless amount of kids in this so-called shelter. Always _caring _for them.

He won't kill anyone else's _sister_ again.

The Joker examined the girl. She couldn't be _any _older than seventeen, and she certainly looked familiar. She had one of those large kitchen knives in her hand, and she had chair light enough for her throw at someone. She had a gas mask on.

_Smart girl for wearing that...but not smart enough._

"Hey, kid, don't _play_ with that...You might just get someone hurt..." The Joker's voice was deathly calm; he tugged Renee's collar and flung the young, tall girl back to the ground. She scrambled away, eyes staring at Jenny like a deer in the headlights.

Jenny looked at the Joker with pure disgust, and her gray eyes had a glint of nothingness.

"You killed her," Jenny stated, having obvious anger in her voice, even if she tried her hardest to tuck it away. The Joker sneered.

"...And which _her _are you talking about? The one who couldn't stop laughing at my jokes? Or the little girl with huge eyes like that puppy-girl over there?" Darla. _Oh, cra-_

"Or maybe the woman who-"

"**Shut up.**"

Time went quick after that. The chair hurled into the Joker's direction, and-

Break. The chair impacted the wall behind him; a fog of little debris faded away as rapidly as it began. If that chair was a _tiny _bit closer, he could've gotten a concussion easily.

But nope, nope, _nope_.

Jenny was doing small flinches of rage as the knife shook in her hand. The Joker raised an eyebrow as a laugh of the idiocy she did came out of his mouth in one, big "HA!"

She craned her pale neck backward, _That's it. I'm done here. I don't __**care **__if I freaking die; I don't __**care **__if I freaking get crippled. __**He's **__done. _

She didn't really..._care_ that one of the Joker's minions sneaked up behind. She just had to kick him in the groin, having no reaction on her face what so ever. The dull surprise of it all made her eye sight lose focus, eyes still staring at the Joker...

Her eyes widened considerably after she zoned back into reality when she felt a cold, metallic object pointed at her head; the Joker, gripping his gun, grinded his teeth at her, making her only see his smile. Her gas mask was off.

"You don't look like a big fan of the real world, _doncha_?" He asked sweetly. She answered by gathering up all the saliva she could in her mouth and ejecting it at his teeth. The Joker's head automatically turned sideways, and his chalk-white face flushed with vexation. Veins were sprouting in his flashing, bright green eyes. He calmly smiled at her; his eyes were still hardened, as well as Jenny's.

"I'm guessing that's a yes..." He pulled the trigger.

Nothing came out.

Jenny grimaced. No, she didn't win the game. He did. He was still going to ki-

"Why, um...what's your name again?" Jenny scoffed at the Joker's casual question.

"Why should I tell you? You just want to know so you can taunt Batman about how much I begged for mercy," Jenny spat. His grin became wider, and he rolled his eyes. His fingers pressed on her jaw. Jenny, no matter how hard she tried, could not ignore her muscles tightening and her heart racing and her blood going cold. Her head throbbed, and her body slowed down, knowing that everything was done and over. She never believed in any afterlife; only cowards thought about that. She would be in numbness forever, in a void of eternal blackness. Her foot was on the brink of tapping, for the wait should be over by now. Jenny hated him. She didn't care if he probably had a tragic sob story; she wanted to be locked up in a room with him and use every tactic that he used against, what, 2,000 people? She knew everyone wanted to do the same, but she stopped caring about that a long time ago.

"Sheesh, kid, lighten up. You're embarrassing yourself." He pinched his flower, spraying the girl's face. It was the Joker's turn to mock her.

"Ha, ha, _ha._"


	6. Defense

Disclaimer: For the 6th time, I do not own Batman.

A/N: Thank you to the…five people so far that reviewed, and the seven favoriters and eight followers. And to the nine-hundred or so people that read this story (you have absolutely no **idea** how happy I am right now). You all get virtual hugs (*hug*). To the reviewers/favoriters/followers…you get more hugs (*hug*). And a special thank you to Shaddic, who saved me from the depths of fan-fiction writer despair. Check her stories out; they're awesome!

Points to anyone who can spot the '89 reference! And the slight Cheshire Crossing reference (if any of you know about it)!

And by the way…there's a lot of black comedy…lots and lots of black comedy… (well, for what I've done in a while...but it's probably not a load) …And there is one censored part of violence. You figure out where it landed yourself (you'll know what I mean at the end of the chapter). And sorry if my username is too...HP-ish. Just pretend I have another username or...something...

* * *

"HA, HA, HA, HA, _HA, HA, HA, HA…!_"

…

Shrieks of terror and whistling noises of gas that went right through Bonnie's ears like chalk made her jump right up from her previously relaxed posture. A second before, her heart was steady. Now it plunged downward, and her throat turned sore rapidly. She didn't visibly shake, but her muscles begged to do so. Her mind did not pay the slightest attention to the possible amount of causalities that were happening about two floors down, but he-

No.

No.

No.

No.

_No. _

She shoved her pale green book under her pillow almost desperately, for she ran to the tightly locked window on the left of her; her top hat lay on the bed. Tea-_her allergies _rose up to her eyes when she saw the Joker's goons climbing up the walls of the building of moderate speed, but also angrily. Angry at _someone_ for making them do this. Goons, even in reality, were ...incompetent to an extent, but they shouldn't be underestimated.

She hoped they weren't on _the roof. _

Or worse, possibly the most devoted henchwoman to ever exist in Gotham City or possibly the nation was there.

Or just _maybe..._

She rushed to the door, holding her allergies back. They could be in any room; they could be _right_ _on the other side of the door_ for all she knew. Please, please, please...

Bonnie hesitated. _Then _she opened the door.

Bonnie pondered to herself as she unconsciously strode in the direction that her feet led her to. Where did everyone on this floor go? _Probably hiding silently in their closets. BUT_ they would break into every _single _room eventually. Wouldn't they?

For a short moment, she thought that she should've hid just like the puppets were.

She couldn't do that.

"_...Surprise,"_ She swiftly turned around, flying red hair in her face, and was not stopped by herself when she kicked the lean henchman in the nuts. Bonnie saw everything next to her as a colorful blur as she sprinted away to the only area that was not a haze: the stairway. The henchman, whose face was contorted with many emotions, rolled over on his side.

"S-stupid kids and their g-groin-kicking tendencies!"

Bonnie felt a tiny strain of her hair poking her irritatingly as she moved; she frustratingly took it out, blinking hardly a second afterward. Bonnie heard bouts of whimpering and anguished hysteria she couldn't decipher, so she plugged them out. She knew that people didn't know what to do with themselves, but _everybody's_ just going to get themselves killed _faster_! She dismissed the fact that she was darting to an unknown location, and did not think about everything around her.

_The attic ladder is right there...__**the attic ladder is right there. **_

And it was. She began to climb it, not knowing and not caring of the reason it was down. The steps creaked as she escalated upward, but the creak of the last step suddenly ceased as Bonnie was thrust to the floor in front of her.

* * *

On the third floor, the henchmen did the same approach as before: break into every single room. The wonderfully..._adorable_ children were very enthused once they came into the picture (and invited them in with weeping and attempting to block the doors with tables and chairs, by all means!). Harley was certainly the one who had the most fun. She ran into every room that she could so she could play a small game of cards with them, blinking her blue doe eyes at the kids.

"But are you _sure_?" Harley's eyes were filled with exaggerated self-pity and sorrow. The boy cringed; he only looked at her over-sized mallet that lay on the red miniature couch.

"Y-yes, I'm sure! C-can you just let me go to sleep?"

"No! **We are going to play and that is ****_final_****.**"

The Joker went into two rooms before, and oh, did they look joyful to see him! Just like that girl from downstairs, but at least the children didn't kick and thrash at him while they laughed at his joke.

He twisted the knob of another door. This kid seemed to be the only one who didn't lock it. He entered inside the room, beaming.

_No one _was inside. He didn't hear any sound from the closet or anything. He could've left the room, but he didn't. Something caught his eye.

There was a black top hat on a drab-looking bed, with a chest box next to it. The Joker grabbed the hat when he was by the bed. He stared at the chest. It wasn't grimy or anything, which meant someone had cleaned it recently enough. Recently. Joker's eyes sparked with glee.

* * *

She didn't want to fight.

A light thump was heard when her aching body hit the dusty wooden floor, eyes ajar at two henchmen. The blonde henchman pounced right at her. He had a dagger.

Bonnie barely rolled out of the way; her hair was tangled with dust. A small piece of her hair was not there anymore. Her eyes were drawn on the window many yards away as she crawled away. The narrow-eyed henchman was pushed into the same place Bonnie was before.

"You idiot!" The one with a woolen hat on shouted, "The Boss wants the kid alive, dumb-"

"Who says that is the kid?" The blonde goon retorted.

"You weren't _there _that night! She was small and had reddish hair!"

"Like you would see her face! Three of the others got arrested!"

"Well, she-SHE'S GOING TO GET AWAY!"

A henchman with a leather jacket and sunglasses in the shadows came out with a cloth, "Not our faults!" He swiped a knife out, which left his hand as promptly as it came out. The kid dodged it; another minion with long brown hair and a smiley face shirt lunged toward her as she did. Bonnie, not immediately this time, had her foot square in between his legs. A hoarse, inhuman sound was the result.

Bonnie already felt limp inside. A pair of gruff hands came down on her shoulders, and just like before, she was on the floor again.

The man with the sunglasses made a brisk gesture with his hands to someone, and called out, "Give me that sedative needle before she does something!" Bonnie should just give up. She knew there was a window not so far away, but like it would even matter in the end… They are probably waiting for a sneak attack once she escapes through the window. She almost wanted to drift into a sleep, and just play with her matches as she loses consciousness.

Her matches.

She was new again.

Her hand slid into her pocket. A tiny pack of them carefully left her pocket; the slide made a hiss as half of it was removed. She was still looking blankly at the henchman as she clutched a single match, examining wear to aim at.

The man bent down as he got ready to puncture the needle in her skin. Bonnie threw it: right where she wanted it. His screeching was hair-raising, enough to deafen a person next to him.

It finished quickly.

"Oh, stop being so pathetic, Bob!" The blonde henchman said as Bonnie stood up (which caught the attention of no one). A glowing match landed in his hair. The henchman screamed like a little girl. Hoots of laughter followed.

The mirth ended suddenly when Bonnie lighted five matches across the pack. Chaos erupted around Bonnie as about six people sprung at her, fire somewhere one way or another. A slender shadow, along with a bouncing one, was visible in the attic. Let the games begin.

"So agile…" Bonnie avoided a rigid slap as she slid away baseball-style, near the man with the woolen hat.

"So skilled…" Bonnie kicked the woolen hat henchman's chin when he got out a gas sprayer, cursing as he stumbled backward.

"_So…_" Bonnie didn't recall the familiar voice that was only feet away from her, heart pumping. The henchmen backed up instantaneously. _Why would they…? _

A giant figure grabbed Bonnie, pinning the girl against the brick wall only a couple seconds later. Her forearms scarcely prevented her from having her face squished, and she partially closed her eyes. A needle with a greenish liquid was jabbed into her skin. The same person who was trapping her petted her hair.

"**Your defense needs work,**" The Joker deadpanned as the fluid pervaded her veins. Bonnie did a faint moan, for her arms started slipping off the wall. Everything was leaving. Numb.

He let go. She collapsed, eyes almost shut, but she didn't fall to the floor. Her body met with someone's arms: the exact arms that belonged to the person who was the reason she was here. She didn't think when another voice spoke and when there were noises from something of a…helicopter engine…

"Boss, the Bat-mobile is outside!"

"Well, hurry it up then!"

Bonnie gawked upward as her hair was being stroked again, wanting to shiver but couldn't. As her ears buzzed and locked out, the Joker's face directly gazed at her, and he had a gleam in his eyes she could not understand. It was there, however, and it was of coldness, curiosity, and pure excitement. All complete with a grin on his face.

"I'll take _good care_ of you, _kid._"

She then lost her grasp on awareness, and never got the chance to see the Joker twirling her hat after saying his choice of seven words that latched on her.


End file.
